Japan Protests Medvedev Visit to Disputed Kunashiri Island

Japan’s prime minister strongly protested Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to a disputed island and said in a meeting on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim leaders’ conference Saturday that the two nations must build mutual trust.

Medvedev reportedly responded that he will return to the island whenever he pleases.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan told Medvedev that the Nov. 1 visit was unacceptable and inflamed the feelings of the Japanese people, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said. Kan said the two nations, which have never signed a treaty formally ending their World War II hostilities because of the territorial dispute, must work to develop trust.

The talks Saturday — which Japanese officials said began in a "tense mood" — were their first since Medvedev’s trip to the island, known as Kunashiri in Japan and Kunashir in Russia. Russia captured the island and several others in the closing days of World War II.